Remedy
by lilgulie5
Summary: Padmé and Anakin have been apart for five months when Coruscant is attacked and they are finally reunited as the Republic they know continues to fall apart around them. A fic of missing Anidala moments from Revenge of the Sith with possible redemption for Anakin. Chapter 2 has been added!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This is the first chapter in what will be a fic of "missing" Anakin/Padmé** **throughout Revenge of the Sith. The first chapter takes place just before ROTS begins and where the novel** _ **Labyrinth of Evil**_ **ends. (If you haven't read** _ **Labyrinth of Evil**_ **yet it's SO good.) This is my very first Star Wars fic so please let me know what you think! -Katie**

"Are you sure you're alright?" Mon Mothma asked as she followed Padmé through the transparisteel door to the Senator of Naboo's apartment. "Bail and I could stay with you."

"I'll be fine," Padmé reassured her friend. "Really. I was just shaken up by the suddenness of the attack. Dormé is here, Threepio is here if I should need anything. You've got more important things to do than look after me. A good, long, hot shower and sleep is what I need."

The auburn haired Chandrillian held her gaze for a long moment before speaking. "And perhaps a medical droid just in case," Mon said pointedly. "It was not an easy landing when we crashed, despite Bail's best efforts and you did lose consciousness after you stood up."

"Perhaps that would be best," Padmé replied, nodding in recognition of the words that did not need to be spoken.

"Good."

"Tell Bail I'll see both of you tomorrow and thank him for me."

"Do you think it's entirely necessary? You could work from home tomorrow. Give yourself more of a chance to rest."

"If I stay here all day tomorrow I think I'd go mad," Padmé replied with an uneasy laugh. "I need to go to the Senate tomorrow. I need to feel like I'm doing something."

Mon Mothma smiled kindly and squeezed her shoulder. "Then I will see you tomorrow. I know better than to argue with you of all people."

"Thank you," she replied, pulling the taller woman into a hug as tears began to sting her eyes.

"Rest," Mon urged again. "Take care of yourself."

Padmé nodded as Mon Mothma left her apartment and keyed the door closed. She sank back against the wall and drew a shuddering breath. As she closed her eyes a fresh wave of hot tears poured over her cheeks. This time she did not even try to stop them and soon the silent tears became sobs that wracked her body.

"My Lady?" Dormé asked tentatively. "Are you alright?"

"Yes," Padmé replied instinctively before shaking her head. "No. No, I'm not."

Her handmaid, her friend, and one of her closest confidants wrapped her in a comforting embrace. Padmé rested her head on Dormé's shoulder and tried in vain to compose herself.

"I saw the coverage on the Holonet. It looked terrible. I heard Senator Mothma say something about a crash? Are you alright? Is the-,"

"I don't know," Padmé shook her head and pulled back. "I don't _feel_ like anything is wrong. We crashed and one moment I was fine. I don't think I hit my head or anything else, but as I stood up from the speeder and saw everything around me...it looked like a war zone. _Coruscant_ looked like a battle front. My head just started spinning and then I woke up in the back of the speeder. I don't know what I'd do if anything-,"

"M'Lady, everything will be fine," Dormé offered. "I'll call Emdee to check just to be sure."

"Thank you. I think I'd like to get cleaned up before that. I'll be in the 'fresher. Would you please just have Emdee wait for me in my room?"

"Of course, m'lady. And maybe some tea as well."

Dormé turned to leave when Padmé caught her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze and a weak smile. "Thank you, Dormé. Really."

"Of course," her friend replied, patting her hand and setting about her task.

Once inside the 'fresher Padmé began to peel off the layers of clothing. They were dirty and damp with perspiration from her harrowing afternoon. She stripped down to her shift before she dared to glance at herself in the mirror. _Kriff,_ she thought, taking her disheveled hair down. Her face was still pale and smudged with dirt and smoke. As she removed the pins and clips that held her coiffure in place her hair tumbled down her shoulders and she drew a calming breath for what seemed like the hundredth time that day and smoothed her hands over the silky shift, pausing at the slight swell of her stomach. She tried to remember the last time she had felt the baby move. Was it in the morning? Had she felt it during their flight from the senate building? She couldn't remember. _If something was wrong, I'd know._

Padmé thought back to the first time she had felt her child move. She was alone at her desk in her home office one night , putting off all attempts at sleep since she knew it would not come easily anyway. As she read over senate briefings she fiddled with the japor snippet that hung around her neck. It was something she did without even thinking, letting her thumb smooth across the markings. She did it out of habit when she was at home and could let her guard down. It made her feel closer to him and she had smiled when she thought of the little boy who gave it to her. That's when she felt it. No more than a flutter, as if she'd swallowed a butterfly, but it stilled all of her motions until she felt it again. A sense of nervous excitement filled her quickly followed by a twinge of sadness. From the day she had realized she was pregnant, Padmé had always imagined that she would share this moment with Anakin. It was just yet another cruel reminder of what the war had taken from her.

Shaking her head, Padmé tried to banish the unthinkable, terrifying thought nagging at the back of her mind. She turned on the hot water and let it run for a few moments, using the time to disrobe and place the japor snippet onto a painted tray on the countertop. Despite having stripped off all of her of her clothing it was the removal of the snippet that left her feeling the most exposed, the most vulnerable.

Unlike nearly every other married being in the galaxy, Padmé never had the chance to wear a ring or any other outward sign of her commitment, bond, and vow to her husband. However, she always wore the snippet somewhere on her person. It made her feel closer to Anakin and, after all, it was a nine-year-old boy who had promised her it would bring her good fortune all those years ago. So far, that seemed to be true. How many times had she escaped certain death or some other calamity.

Climbing into the shower, Padmé let the warm streams of cleansing water run over her tired body. She couldn't remember the last time she felt so drained, both emotionally and physically. It was not solely caused by the events that had transpired that day. For weeks, issues in the Senate were becoming more contentious. The Loyalist committee felt constantly thwarted by the Chancellor and a clear diplomatic solution seemed unattainable unless he was willing to begin the process of relinquishing some of the emergency powers he had acquired over the past few years. Padmé never would have imagined such an outcome years ago when Palpatine had been her senator, her advisor, her friend. Now all of that seemed to be fading away and she began to doubt whether or not they still believed in the same ideas anymore. Were they even on the same side? It was becoming increasingly difficult to understand. _Don't think like that,_ she chided herself. _Of course the Chancellor wants this war to end. Why else would he create a Loyalist committee?_

Feeling sufficiently clean and hoping the medical droid had arrived, Padmé stepped out of the shower and dried off. She slipped into a plain linen nightgown and towel-dried her hair, plaiting it into a loose braid that hung over her shoulder. For the second time she glanced at her reflection in the mirror, taking a moment to study herself carefully. The fatigue shown in her brown eyes, there were the beginnings of dark circles under them, and her shoulders sagged. It has been months since she slept through the night and Padmé knew tonight would be no different. Still shaken from the attack, crash landing, and subsequent abduction of the Chancellor, sleep seemed illusive. No matter what kind of calming tea Threepio fixed for her that evening, she knew her eyes would be glued to the Holonet until it was impossible to keep them open any longer.

Padmé knew that she could not delay anymore and opened the 'fresher door, walking through her wardrobe to the bedroom. It did not surprise her to find Threepio, Emdee the medical droid, and Dormé waiting for her with an anxious face.

"Senator Amidala," Emdee began. "See-Threepio has been filling me in on your...activities today."

"Yes, well things didn't go exactly as I had planned. I'd like to make sure everything is alright."

Emdee motioned for Padmé to lie down on the bed. She did so, pulling the covers up over her lover body and reached under them to pull her nightgown up just over the swell of her stomach.

"Remember," Padmé started.

"M'lady, I've already reminded Emdee of your request," Dormé offered with a kind smile.

"Thank you," she replied and settled back onto the bed so the medical droid could proceed with the checkup. It was not that Padmé did not want to see the image of her child the ultrasound provided, she did. But it felt so wrong to see and experience it before she was able to share it with Anakin. From the moment she learned she was pregnant she requested to only know the most vital information. She wanted to see her child for the first time with Anakin and perhaps they would let the baby's gender remain a surprise. There were so few truly good surprises in their lives at the moment. Finding out whether they were having a boy or girl would be a much needed surprise.

"This might be cold," the droid informed Padmé as it applied gel onto her stomach and began to move the ultrasound wand over her skin.

Padmé held her breath, closed her eyes, and prayed until she finally heard the familiar pulsing sounds of the baby's strong heartbeat. She let out a breath mixed with a laugh and a sob of relief as tears escaped her eyes.

"Everything seems perfectly normal," Emdee concluded, finishing up the scan. "Do you have any questions?"

"I don't think so," Padmé replied. "Thank you. Threepio will see you out."

The medical droid nodded and gathered its instruments and followed Threepio from the senator's bedroom. Padmé had no doubt that he would remind Emdee of the need for extreme confidentiality even though that was hardly necessary at this point. If she didn't trust Emdee, she would not have called for the exam.

"What a relief, M'lady," Dormé said, handing her a cloth to clean herself off with. "Now you'll be able to breathe easier."

"I'm so grateful," Padmé replied. "I don't know what I would have done, but I doubt I'll be able to breathe easier until I know Anakin is safe."

"Of course. Do you think they'll recall General Skywalker now that the Chancellor has been kidnapped?"

"Is it wrong to say that I hope so?"

Padmé pulled her nightgown down, smoothing her hands over her stomach and sat up in the bed.

"No," her friend replied. "Why wouldn't the Jedi Council put the two most accomplished generals on this case?"

"Exactly. And yet...I'm not sure they'd be any safer. They'd be up against Grievous and possibly Dooku as well."

"If anyone can end this war I believe it's Master Kenobi and Anakin."

"I know," Padmé nodded. "And that's what scares me."

"Is there anything else I can get for you, m'lady?"

"No, thank you though. I think I'll retire for the evening."

"Very good," Dormé said inclining her head. "And please do actually try to get some sleep."

"If you insist," Padmé joked lightly. "Thank you, Dormé."

When her handmaiden left the room Padmé leaned back and rested her head against the backboard. Her relief was unfathomable. Having confirmation that the baby was healthy seemed to do more than just assuage her worry. The tension in shoulders and neck eased and her limbs felt a little less heavy. Knowing she was alone, Padmé's hands found the swell of her stomach.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "No more adventures like today. At least not for a long time, I promise."

She did not talk to the baby often, but at times she was alone or when the baby would move about, she found herself drifting into conversations with her unborn child.

"There's a good chance your father could come home soon," she continued, tracing a pattern over the material of her nightgown. "I know it's selfish of me to want him home. He's working so hard to end this war, but I want to tell him about you more than anything in the galaxy. I think he'll be excited...I hope he will be anyway, once the shock wears off."

Padmé spent hours thinking of how she was going to tell Anakin she was pregnant. Ideally, she had wanted to do it at Varykino, but that was before...before the war in the Outer Rim raged on and kept them apart for longer than she'd ever imagined it could. She had envisioned meeting him at the lake retreat, preparing his favorite meals- one of her few specialties- making love to him, and when they were lying so close to one another she would quietly whisper into his ear. Being together at Varykino would certainly allow him the time to process the news, they would be able to figure out a plan together. Now...now she was not sure what she would do.

Padmé reached over to her bedside table and unplugged a datapad she had left charging there when she left in the morning. She flicked on the switch and the pad came to life with images of streaming video of the horrific events of the day. Minimizing that screen, Padmé began to type in Anakin's name, hoping to bring up the latest news results listed, but there were no current updates to be found. She was not sure whether that alleviated her fears or just made them worse. News about her husband had been scarce, but she grasped onto whatever little bits of information should could find.

"Kriff," she cursed under her breath.

Deciding she was unsatisfied, she went back to the current coverage of the attack on Coruscant pledging to get right to work in the morning on making sure an official state of emergency was declared and that funds were allocated to those most in need of assistance. Perhaps she could even convince Bail and Mon to tour some of the wreckage with her. She needed to be around people, and like she had said to her friend she needed to feel useful.

Inevitably, after what seemed like hours of poring over video clips and making countless notes to herself, Padmé felt her eyelids begin to grow heavy. Ghosting her fingers over the japor snippet she let her eyes close for just a few moments. _Come back to me, Ani,_ she thought as sleep began to envelop her. _Come home._


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Just a quick note about Chapter 2. I inserted a flashback that happens just after the Battle of Geonosis in Episode II (in 22 BBY). The meeting between Padmé and Obi-Wan referenced there, as well as the argument she has with Master Vokara Che, can be found in the Clone Wars novel** _ **Wild Space**_ **. A great read for any Anidala fans. This is also where I got Anakin's affinity for chee-chee berries from. I also moved the rating up to an M just to be on the safe side. Special thanks to Rachel for beta-ing this chapter and letting me bounce ideas off of her. Please read and review! Thanks! ~Katie**

~~~~~~~~~Hours after the Battle of Coruscant- 19 Years Before the Battle of Yavin~~~~~~~~~

Padmé was lying awake watching the gentle rise and fall of Anakin's shoulders. He held her close, his head perfectly nestled in the space between her breasts and the rising swell of her stomach. Silently, she prayed he would sleep soundly and uninterrupted by any more nightmares and terrors that might lurk about in his mind. He needed the sleep. She knew he did not get a good night's sleep in all of the five months they were apart. She had not either. Not a night went by that she did not wake and reach for him only to find an empty pillow.

She was so relieved to see him alive, to hold him in her arms, that she did not notice the exhaustion that was etched across his features. It was not until she found him earlier on the veranda that she noticed the toll the war was taking on her husband. For some reason he seemed older, as if the five month's absence had aged him at least a year, if not more.

Feeling the mattress dip when he had left, Padmé only crawled out of their bed when he had not come back after some time. It would be a lie to say that his dream did not trouble her. She remembered all too well the dreams Anakin had about his mother. The rational, level-headed part of her reminded him that they lived on _Coruscant_. Even if she could go to Naboo for the birth there were more than competent medical droids and assistants there.

Anakin was not wholly convinced, she could tell, so she had done one of the only things she knew she could do to calm him at the time.

"Come to bed," Padmé had whispered, taking him by the hand and leading him back to their bedroom.

Once they were tucked back into their bed she held him for what had seemed like a long while, silently stroking his hair.

"I suppose your hair is better than when you had your padawan tail," she offered. They had joked over dinner about his longer, increasingly unruly locks.

"Are you saying you didn't like my hair?" he asked and even though she couldn't see his face she could feel the shifting of his facial muscles as a smile spread across his features.

"It wasn't my favorite."

"That didn't stop you from pulling on it when-"

"Don't you dare finish that sentence."

"Why not?" Anakin asked, lifting his head from her chest and smirking up at her.

His smiled warmed her heart and Padmé knew what that smirk meant. The ache she had felt during his long absence and the relief she had upon being reunited with him again far outweighed any tiredness she felt.

"I guess we wouldn't want the rest of the Senate to know what Senator Amidala likes-"

"Anakin…" she warned.

"Yes, my love?" he replied sweetly, propping himself up on his elbow and kissing his way up to her neck.

"You're incorrigible."

"You married me," he said matter-of-factly and began to move his hand up Padmé's side, pulling her nightgown up along the way. "In fact, it was your idea, if I remember correctly."

"You do," she admitted. "And I would do it all over again."

~~~~~~~~~ _Days after the Battle of Geonosis, 22 Years Before Battle of Yavin~~~~~~~~~_

 _Padmé knew she was in love with Anakin before Geonosis, but it was after that fateful battle that she realized she could not live without him. She should have expected Obi-Wan's visit shortly after they returned to Coruscant. He had seen it all. The way she practically flew to Anakin after he had been so gravely hurt. The way she refused to leave his side the whole way back to the Jedi Temple. There was no doubt that Obi-Wan had heard about the argument she had with Master Vokara Che in the Halls of Healing when she was not permitted to see Anakin. Yet when he arrived at her apartment early that night she was still surprised._

 _Something from the moment he stepped into the room told her that he knew the truth. Arguing with him was futile. There was no way for her to make him understand that her relationship with Anakin would only help him, not hurt him despite what the Jedi chose to believe about love and attachment. Perhaps she and Anakin's master were too similar, both unyielding in their stubbornness and belief they were right and just in their decisions. He was asking the impossible of her. Giving up Anakin would be like tearing out her still beating heart. She would not do it, but Obi-Wan need not know that and so she lied to him. She lied to a man she still considered a friend despite their disagreement. Padmé agreed to break off her relationship with Anakin, but only if she could do so on her terms. The always respectful and painfully considerate Jedi Master had agreed to allow Anakin to accompany Padmé back to her home planet on one last mission. Or so he thought, but she lied and from that moment she had not stopped lying._

 _The flight back to Naboo was the first chance Anakin and Padmé had been alone since she was pulled from his side when he was taken into the Jedi Temple. She decided not to tell him of Obi-Wan's visit. There was no need to cause animosity between the Master and his apprentice. Anakin would need Obi-Wan's guidance and support just as much as he needed Padmé's love and patience. No, instead she kept that information to herself._

 _Anakin had been shy and hesitant at first, keeping his shining gold arm tucked away into his cloak. It was understandable. He was only recently released from the Halls of Healing and still getting used to his new appendage. Maybe it had been unfair to ask him to escort her home so soon. He was so quiet that Padmé began to wonder if she was making a mistake. He had been the one to make the first move on the veranda at Varykino and now it was her turn._

 _She called him to her private quarters on the skiff and bade him to sit in a chair. Even seated he was still at eye-level with her. Standing in front of him she placed both hands on either side of his head and ran her fingertips through his short hair causing him to let out a shuddering breath. He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, composing himself._

" _Look at me," she said softly and his blue eyes gazed into her own. "Talk to me, Anakin. Something's bothering you. Tell me what it is."_

" _It's nothing," he lied before changing his mind. "It's everything."_

" _What's everything?"_

" _Why did you request to have me escort you back?"_

" _What? I requested you because I wanted to spend time with you. I thought you'd want the same."_

" _I do but…"_

" _But?" Padmé prodded, feeling the color rise in her cheeks. After all this time, after wrestling with her own feelings and with her lies to Obi-Wan was he changing his mind?_

" _But I don't want this to be goodbye," he replied and tentatively placed his hand of flesh and bone on her hip._

" _What if it doesn't have to be?"_

" _What do you mean?"_

" _Anakin, I love you and now that I've told you I don't...I don't think I can just lie to myself and pretend that I don't. You're the only man I could ever want. I want you to be mine forever."_

" _Are you saying-"_

" _I know I'm asking you to break every rule for me. I know I'm not being fair, but you were right. I am willing to keep it a secret. I don't need the universe to know so long as I can have you and be your wife if you would have me."_

" _That's_ all _I want, Padmé," Anakin whispered and wrapped both arms around her. "_ You're _all I want. I don't know what this war will bring but I want to know I'll be coming home to you. Are you sure about this? Our lives might never be easy. I may be called away in the middle of the night. I might be gone from Coruscant for days or weeks at a time."_

" _My life wouldn't be easy without you either."_

" _Then you'll be my wife?" Anakin asked. "I can't give you a ring or anything like that."_

" _Yes," Padmé smiled and whispered into his ear. She pulled back and drew the japor snippet from under the fabric of her dress. "What do you mean? You've already given me this. It's more than enough."_

"You're everything to me," Anakin whispered drawing Padmé out of her reverie. "The galaxy makes more sense when I'm with you."

"Everything seems right when you're back in my arms."

As if on cue, Anakin kissed down Padmé's shoulder and stopped abruptly when he found the bruised and slightly scraped skin that he had not noticed before.

"What's this from?" he asked.

"I told you we were in the middle of the attack yesterday. Bail's speeder crashed."

"I should have been there to protect you," Anakin said, brushing his lips over the marred skin.

"Ani," Padmé replied tenderly. "Even if we were on the same planet, we both know that we probably wouldn't have been together."

"I know...but _I_ wouldn't have crash landed."

"No?" she laughed. "You crash landed half of the _Invisible Hand_ into Coruscant earlier today."

"True, but at least no civilians were harmed."

"I'm fine," she reassured him, pulling his lips down to her own. "Weren't we in the middle of something?"

He grinned at her again and it felt like a weight was being lifted off of her shoulders. His touch released the tension in her body. When they were alone together in whatever bit of sanctuary they could find the rest of the galaxy drifted away so easily. Her eyes fluttered closed as he moved his lips ever so lightly across her jaw.

"Anakin," she sighed.

"Tell me what you want, my love," he said, slowly inching her nightgown up once more.

"Only you," she replied.

It seemed as if every time he came home after a long absence was like getting reacquainted with her body all over again, now ever more so. He was always attentive to her needs, but now as he pulled her nightgown over her head, Padmé sensed a careful hesitation. As his eyes scanned over her figure his mouth fell open ever so slightly in awe and his fingers grazed over the taut skin of her stomach.

"It's fine, Ani," she reassured him, gently caressing his arm in encouragement.

"Are you sure you're not a Jedi?"

"Please, you haven't been this way since our wedding night. I don't have to be a Jedi to know what you're thinking. I know _you_ and I love you and I've missed you."

"I dreamed of you every night," Anakin said, gently parting her legs and kneeling between them. "I don't know what was worse, being away from you or waking up and realizing you weren't there."

"We're together now," Padmé reminded him. Her hands slid from his arms to his chest, down his body to the waistband of his sleep pants. She stroked his hardness a few times through the light fabric before pulling on the drawstring and slipping them down his waist.

"Thank the gods for that," he replied.

He took both of her hands into his own, entwining their fingers together and resting them above her head. Carefully, he laid his body over hers, keeping most of his weight on his knees and arms. In the glow that came through her bedroom window, Anakin looked young once again, more energized than when she found him alone on the veranda just moments ago. His eyes were so clear and so blue and when she kissed him they fluttered closed. When her tongue danced across his bottom lip he moaned ever so quietly, and when his eyes opened again they were dark and hungry and a sly smile played on his lips.

Guiding himself into her, he paused and she savored the feeling of being so completely connected to him once more. She let her foot slide across the back of his calf and wrapped her arm around his shoulders. Pushing his hair away from his face she smiled softly up at him before bringing his lip upon hers once more.

Anakin set a slow pace for them so different from the frantic, half-clothed coupling they had shared earlier in the evening not long after they were reunited in the shadows of the Senate rotunda. Now, Padmé could tell his full attention was on her and her alone. He nipped, sucked, and kissed every sensitive area and, as he moved over her, she tightened her legs around his waist.

"You're mine," she whispered against the shell of his ear.

"Always," he practically growled as his thrusts became more erratic. She began to match his rhythm, lifting her hips off the bed in time with his motions.

"Faster."

At her words Anakin slowed his actions. He pulled back so he could look down while leisurely gliding in and out of her, casually ignoring his wife's request.

"Ani," Padmé practically whined, wiggling her hips beneath him.

"Yes, my love?" he replied so innocently she could have slapped him.

"Please."

"Please, what?"

"You _know_ what."

"Do I?" he asked, cupping each of her full breasts in his large hands.

"Yes," she replied, her voice hitching in the back of her throat when he pinched one nipple and then the other into a hard peak. "You do."

"But this is so much more fun."

"For you."

"Are you saying you're not enjoying this?" Anakin asked, lowering his head and flicking his tongue across a rosy bud.

"I didn't...say..." she tried to say, but her words were lost in a gasp.

"What's that? I couldn't quite make out that last bit."

" _Ani, please_."

Even in the dimly lit room, Padmé could see how much Anakin was enjoying this. He loved watching her squirm, loved getting a rise out of her any way that he could and that was no different when it came to their lovemaking. His fingers splayed across her ribcage and snaked their way around her back until she was cradled close against him once more.

"Well," he said, his breath hot across Padmé's lips. "I guess you _did_ say please…"

"I need you, Anakin," she quietly moaned and lifted her head off the pillows just enough to brush her lips against his. "So close."

" _Kriff_ ," he cursed and bucked into her, finally giving in to her earlier request. His hips slapped against hers and she relished the familiar warmth of his weight over her, the way his head always fell onto her shoulder when he was equally as close. A hand searched for hers and hastily tangled their fingers together.

"Come for me, Padmé."

It was a request, not a command, and one that she was more than willing to oblige. With just one more thrust she fell apart around him, letting the waves of her climax wash through her whole body and envelop Anakin as well. He came with a sudden jerk and her name upon his lips before nearly collapsing on top of her.

"Kriffing hell," he panted, desperate to catch his breath. "Are you alright?"

"Mmmhmmm," she hummed contentedly, unwilling to move just yet. "Better than alright."

"Okay. I just thought...I was worried I might have…"

"That was perfect. Even better than earlier tonight. It's almost like you missed me or something. I still can't believe you're really here."

"Do you need me to prove it again?" Anakin asked, but even as the words left his mouth he was already pulling away and sank onto his side on the bed next to her.

"Not right now," she laughed, turning her head to kiss him. "But perhaps in the morning I might need to be reminded that this wasn't just a dream."

"Hmmm so I get to have my breakfast in bed then?"

"I had Threepio stock up on chee-chee berries just for you."

"That's not exactly what I had in mind."

A shared laugh reverberated between them as Anakin stretched out his long limbs. Padmé watched as he propped himself up on his elbow and reached out to trace a pattern over her still exposed stomach. Her first instinct was to join their hands together or cover his with her own, but she resisted. She had months to adjust, to spend time thinking about their child. He had only found out he was going to be a father earlier that day. A few undisturbed and uninterrupted moments were well deserved. She did not move, hardly dared to even breathe as he continued gliding his finger across her skin in seemingly nonsensical lines and shapes. When he was finished he lay his warm palm flat against the curve of her belly and smiled up at her.

"Now you match," he said.

"What?" she replied with a curious look.

He reached for her japor snippet and held it between his thumb and forefinger.

"You match," he said again. "That's what I was drawing. The runes from the snippet."

"Will it bring the baby good fortune, too?"

"That's the idea."

"That," Padmé said, cupping his face in her hand. "Is exactly why I know you'll be a wonderful father. Whatever other uncertainties I have, that isn't one of them."

"Because I just drew runes on your stomach?" he asked.

"No," she replied, rolling her eyes. "Because, despite the many ways you've changed and matured, you're still that boy I met on Tatooine, and that's a good thing. You still have the biggest heart of anyone I've ever met."

"Oh stop."

"It's true. How many boys at that age would risk their lives for people they hardly knew?"

"Not many," Anakin admitted. "But I didn't race for just anyone. I think a part of me knew even then that our lives would be forever connected. You were an angel. You _are_ my angel. You, and now our child, you remind me of what I'm fighting for."

"Oh Anakin," Padmé sighed, drawing his lips to hers again. "My heart. My love."

With great reluctance she let him break their kiss and move to settle himself against her. His arms wrapped around her frame and he nestled his head between her breasts and where their child lay safe from the cares and worries of the galaxy. Although they had not spoken of his nightmare again, she felt as if he held her just a little tighter and a little closer now.

"Sleep well, my love," Padmé whispered, his tawny hair slipping through her fingers once again as she tried in vain to keep her own fears about Anakin's state of mind at bay. She needed to hold it all together. Keeping him safe, both physically and emotionally, mattered more to her now than ever before. "I'll be right here."


End file.
